BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — As the conflict in Iran continues, Kern County residents continue to feel the pinch at the pump.
To see how residents are reacting to rising gas prices, I spoke with Alex Diaz, a salesperson at Three Way Chevrolet. Diaz said the dealership is seeing an increase in people looking to switch to an electric vehicle in an effort to cut costs on gas.
"Absolutely. Reason being, is gas prices are skyrocketing, and people are spending upwards of $100 a week for normal, basic transportation for their normal daily lives and stuff," Diaz said.
The rising costs are reaching the point where people who swore off EVs are now starting to change their tune.
"For anybody that is anti-EV, I always recommend just come with me for one test drive, and I'll change your life," Diaz said.
As far as Kern County’s place in the oil industry, I spoke with George Harmer, co-founder of Californians for Energy and Science. Harmer said that as oil and gas prices stay high, the local oil industry is poised to step up to fill the need for the state and produce more oil, which would in turn lower costs. However, it would need bipartisan support at the state level to make a comeback.
"If we want to really flip the switch and get production up with the most bang for our buck in Kern County is the moratorium on advanced energy recovery," Harmer said.
"The Belridge complex alone used to produce about 90,000 barrels a day when they were allowed to frack and use that advanced energy recovery. So I think there's creative ways for Kern County to once again be one of the number one producing counties in the lower 48, but without bipartisan support, I think that the consumers here in California are going to continue to feel the pressure at the pump," Harmer said.
Harmer added a caveat that even if a change were to happen in the immediate future, companies would need to be confident that the rules for drilling oil would not change for the foreseeable future in order to make those investments.
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